Kron Gracie breaks silence after UFC exit. After a brutal knockout loss to Bryce Mitchell at UFC 310, Kron Gracie has been officially removed from the UFC roster and he’s not holding back. Kron Gracie has officially parted ways with the UFC and the Brazilian jiu-jitsu standout isn’t hiding his frustration. Days after being removed from the UFC roster following his knockout loss to Bryce Mitchell at UFC 310.
The matchup with Mitchell was highly anticipated, but the fight itself lacked excitement until the third round, when Mitchell lifted Gracie and slammed him hard to the canvas, following up with sharp elbows that rendered Gracie unconscious. Now, as Gracie readies himself for his MMA comeback in the main event of Victory Fighting League’s December 12 card in New York, the 37-year-old reflects on what happened that night in Las Vegas.
“I mean, I was fighting a top guy, obviously,” Gracie told MMA Fighting. “He was in the top 15, and I knew it was going to be a tough fight, but I was very confident and I was doing well, and I had a lot of confidence in my guard and pulling guard, and I just made a mistake and I paid for it. So I feel like that’s just kind of the name of the game. Sometimes you zig and you should have zagged, and then you get cracked and so that’s what happened.
“[From an] actual technical point of view, there were some technical mistakes I made and that’s why I paid the price. But this is the fight business, and I know the the game is dangerous, and that’s what it is. So it’s nothing new to me, or nothing I’m shocked about, it didn’t really change anything in my mind. I was actually trying to get back into that fighting as soon as possible. It just kind of took a long time for me to get another fight, so I didn’t try to take this year off. … I was trying to get back in fighting, trying to get motivated to get on another card and continue. I felt like that [fight with Brcye] was kind of like my momentum to get back into it, and things didn’t happen the way it should have, and it took a little longer and now, now we’re finally getting it done. So it’s not like I tried to take this year off.“
Gracie’s parting of ways with the UFC didn’t officially get confirmed until June, so he had to wait and see what was going to happen with his career for over six months following his loss to Mitchell. After facing a slew of tough competition throughout his four-fight run, including fights with Mitchell, Alex Caceres, Cub Swanson and Charles Jourdain , Gracie was a bit surprised the UFC moved on from him. Although it wasn’t ideal, Gracie understood the UFC’s decision and learned a valuable lesson from his time in the company.
“At the time, I was fighting a top-15 guy, and I think like anything that was gonna happen, I would think I was going to get another fight [in the UFC],” Gracie explained. “Just generally [if] you’re fighting a top guy, if you win or lose, you should be able to stay in the game. But I think the way that I fought, the way I pulled guard, and the way that it happened, a lot of fans were disappointed and I lost a lot of stock in that transition. So, I think that’s kind of like as a fan and as a business, the UFC is a business, it makes sense for them to be like, ‘Well, you lost a lot of fans, like go get your fans back, go get some wins and see what happens.‘
“But, I can understand. It’s a business. If pulling guard is going to be that much of a detriment to the ability to keep fighting, and the ability to make money, then f*ck it, I won’t pull guard ever again. And I already made that decision that I’m done with pulling guard. I always do really well from pulling guard, and it was something that I had in my back pocket, but I feel like now, not only for myself, I have to try to get on top. I have to try to be effective in different positions, and I kind of didn’t really have that mindset because I was so successful from the bottom, generally.”
Despite the setbacks, Gracie is now set to face Tom Picciano for the first-ever VFL featherweight title at The Road to Redemption event at Terminal 5 in New York City. Picciano, who has fought seven times in CFFC, is coming in with confidence after winning his last two fights, including a first-round submission in his VFL debut back in August. When it comes to a possible return to the UFC, Gracie thinks it could still happen, but only if he proves he can perform at the level the UFC expected from him.
“I had a couple of different managers kind of speaking for me and everything, so I don’t really know what was said,” Gracie said. “But If I was the UFC, that’s what I would be thinking. If I was the UFC I’d be thinking, ‘Hey, go get some fights and see what happens.‘ We never know what happens after a fight or after two. Things could go up, things could go down, things could go to the left or right, other things can happen.
“I don’t know. I’m not really thinking too much past this fight. I’m trying to get this fight. I’m trying to show my fans that I’m, I’m a really good fighter and I can do some really good performances, and I can create a lot of momentum. I think this fight is more about just showing that I don’t need to pull guard and I could, I could beat somebody’s ass. That’s the plan.”
As Gracie steps back into the spotlight, the stakes have rarely been higher. This comeback isn’t just about winning a belt, it’s about rebuilding his reputation, rewriting his story, and proving that the fire is still there. If he delivers the performance he believes he’s capable of, the UFC door might open again. But for now, all eyes are on Dec. 12, where Kron Gracie begins his road to redemption, one fight, one moment, and one punch at a time.
